


A Snap Decision

by whatthedubbs



Series: And Thus Touching You Would I Silently Sleep and be Carried Eternally [1]
Category: Young Avengers
Genre: All OC's belong to Khirsale and her Teenage Wasteland AU, Fake/Pretend Relationship, High School, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Series, hand-holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-29 10:12:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1004183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatthedubbs/pseuds/whatthedubbs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy and Teddy aren't together.  And it sucks.  Because a chance encounter with a friend winds up with them suddenly pretending to be the happy, fluffy, totally smitten couple they would have been if Teddy hadn't lied and Billy hadn't almost killed the school bully by accident.  </p><p>Still, it's for a worthwhile cause.</p><p>Right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Snap Decision

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CrisArt](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=CrisArt).



Sam gave both of them a _look_.

 _"Seriously?_ You expect me to believe that?  There's not even a convention in town this month."  She folded her arms over her chest.  "You're going on some sort of super nerdy date, aren't you?"

Billy felt his cheeks flushing red an the idea.  "What? No!  It's not a date!  We were just-"

"Yeah," Billy's mouth snapped shut as Teddy's voice cut him off, and a large, soft-skinned hand enveloped his own.  "Um, it was my idea actually."

Billy thought he might explode.  Teddy was _holding his hand._   Teddy was telling Sam they were _together_.  Teddy was bending down to whisper in his ear, slightly chapped lips ( _why were they even chapped when Teddy had absolute control over his body)_ brushing against the shell of it as he whispered "Work with me here."

Billy jolted minutely.  "Um, yeah.  Date.  Teddy's a weirdo."  He bit his lip wondering how far he could take the charade before he started freaking Teddy out, and decided to go for broke. 

"Not that I really mind," he added, leaning in along the line of Teddy's arm and shoulder, all the while chanting to himself _please be okay with this, please be okay with this, pleasedon'tfreakoutohgod._

But apparently, Teddy was still the world's most perfect not-quite-human, because his only reaction was to lean _back_ into Billy and rest his cheek on the top of Billy's head affectionately, which seemed to have Sam semi-convinced.

"Oh."  She blinked, surprised.  "I didn't know you guys were...you know...together.  Like that.  Um.  Congratulations, I guess."  She shifted from foot to foot a little awkwardly.  "Uh, well have a good time, I guess," she said, shoving her hands into the pocket of her hoodie.  "Um, does Jamie know?  Is all right if I..."

Billy bit his lip and tried to crane around to look up at Teddy.  If Jamie knew, then they'd have to keep up the charade every time he was in town to visit.  Teddy might be willing to play the boyfriend once or twice for Sam's benefit, but Billy wasn't sure if the shifter was willing to keep on pretending for weeks at a time.

"Yeah."  Teddy's voice rumbled down his spine and made his toes curl in a way that Billy resolutely tried to ignore because despite what they were apparently going to pretend for the foreseeable future, Teddy _wasn't_ his boyfriend.  "It's cool.  We were gonna tell him the next time he was back in town anyway.  Maybe it'd finally get him off his ass and asking out that girl he's been crushing on forever."

Sam laughed at that, flipping her blond hair over her shoulder and almost hiding the faint blush that had appeared on her cheeks at Teddy's words.  "Yeah, maybe.  Anyway, have fun.  I'll see you on Monday, Billy."

She turned and headed off in the direction of the nearest R station, her bright hair quickly lost in the press of commuters heading home at the end of a long autumn weekend.  Billy simply stood still, not wanting to be the first to break the closeness with Teddy, but not sure he could get away with taking it any further now that there wasn’t anyone around to question them. 

“Think she knows it’s her Jamie’s got the hots for?”  Teddy asked, raising his head off Billy’s but keeping their hands clasped together as he tugged Billy around in the direction of the Avengers Mansion.

“Probably,” Billy managed to respond, most of his brain still occupied with the fact that _Teddy was holding his hand in public and still standing a little too close, and how the hell did this happen_.  “I told you they got married in fourth grade, right?  They’ve been into each other since, like, Spider Man first appeared.”

“Wow, it’s kinda amazing he still hasn’t asked her out.” Teddy said, chuckling slightly.  “He doesn’t seem like the shy type.”

“Yeah, I’m normally the shy one.  Maybe that’s why I’ve never been able to figure out how to get him to make his move.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily say that,” Teddy grinned, squeezing his hand.  “You’re not always shy.  Like when…” he trailed off suddenly, and Billy’s heart sank at the way his hand suddenly loosened and dropped from Billy’s.  Like he was remembering the outcome of Billy’s one attempt to break through his own shyness.  “Sorry.”

Billy sighed and stuffed his hand (which was suddenly feeling very cold) into his pants pocket.  “It’s cool.”  He looked down at his feet, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders to cover his sudden discomfort. 

 

-X-

 

“So are we doing this now?”

“Doing what?”  Teddy shrunk back down from his hulked-out form and reached for his water bottle, tipping his head back and exposing the muscular line of his neck to Billy’s appreciative eye as he drank.

“The whole pretend-relationship thing.  You know, what you told Sam earlier?”

“Oh.”  Teddy looked back at him, his face suddenly guilty.  “Shit, Billy, I didn’t mean to…”

“Forget it,” Billy said, trying not to let any bitterness leach into his voice.  “Are we doing it?”

Teddy bit his lip, peering up at Billy under his lashes.  Then a cautious smile, and:

“Well, you _do_ have nice legs in that outfit.”

Billy snorted a surprised laugh, and reached out to punch Teddy on the shoulder.  “What the hell, Altman?  I try to ask a serious question, and you try to pull some sort of Jedi mind-trick on me.  Be serious.”

Teddy chuffed a laugh back, but quickly looked down at his feet.  “Um, I wouldn’t mind, you know.  I mean, you know how I…Yeah.” He reached around awkwardly (Billy hadn’t even realized Teddy _could_ move awkwardly) to rub at the back of his neck.  “I’m cool.  I mean; I was honestly more worried about what you thought.  You know, because of stuff.”

“Yeah.”  Billy sighed and let himself sink down onto a stray piece of wall that faced Teddy across the room, letting his staff fall across his lap.  “I just didn’t want to force you.  You know, after what Gregg did…”

“Stop.”  Teddy fixed him with those blue eyes, so fucking _earnest_ that it made Billy’s breath catch in his throat.  “You’re not like him.  You’re not forcing me to do anything.  _I_ started it, remember?”

“Right.”  Billy took a deep breath, tearing his gaze away.  “Right.  Okay.  Yeah.  So.”  His fingers ran nervously over the gnarled wood of his staff.  “We’re doing this.  You.  Me.  Fake boyfriends.  For Jamie.”

Teddy smiled tentatively and held out a hand, the same one that had grasped Billy’s own so naturally this earlier in the afternoon.  “For Jamie.” 

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first in a series of apology works that I'm writing for CrisArt to make up for the fact that I couldn't finish the 20,000 words I signed up to write for her art in the YARBB challenge. This first one might have a few other parts, but there will also be scattered one-shot stories in this as well, until I reach 20,000 words.
> 
> Also, this first bit is set in the universe from Khirsah's 'Teendage Wasteland' fic, which is a million times better, and you should go read it now because it is made of MAGIC.


End file.
